County: Tipperary Site name: DER237, Killoran
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 97E0160
Author: Sarah Cross, Lisheen Archaeological Project
Site type: Structure
Period/Dating: Bronze Age (2200 BC-801 BC)
ITM: E 622184m, N 666715m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.751044, -7.671388
This was a small platform built in two phases, dating from 1685–1400 BC. The first phase was an irregularly laid mixture of roundwood and brushwood measuring 6–7m east–west and 6m north–south. It may have been a foundation layer for the platform or it may have been a smaller platform which was repaired and extended. The second phase was a denser layer of irregularly laid roundwood, the final surface of the site. It measured 8–10m east–west by 6.5m north–south. Both layers of wood were held in place with irregularly spaced pegs. The centre of the site was less organised than its edges.
This site bridged a pool in the outflow channel between the actively eroding fen edge and a small ridge of higher, drier land. There was a substantial silting event immediately below the site. The site dates the beginning of a major hydrological shift in this area of the bog.
A rounded and pointed stick made from yew was found lying horizontally in the lowest level of the track on its western edge. It is trimmed along its whole length and the tip is rounded as well as sharpened. The other end was broken in antiquity. Its form and position suggest that it was not simply a structural timber. While its appearance suggests a spear, it seems too slight for that function.
Minorco Lisheen Ltd, Killoran, Moyne, Co. Tipperary
